This review could be really short, because while I am in two minds regarding Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper, I feel this two-minute trailer really captured everything I like about it: Continue reading →

A fictional film! AT LAST. After a slate of screenings of, and trailers for, “true stories” at last we come to a completely original, FICTIONAL story. The curse is ended, and originality prevails! Rather than a historical, emotional roller-coaster, we now have a surreal tale of an aging Hollywood actor trying to throw off the shackles of his blockbuster days by pursuing his more artistic desires that also doubles as a clever parallel of the lead actor’s real life career-

And so, the “based on a true story” trend continues. I don’t have a problem with this trend as such as there are plenty of amazing stories to be told from history. But when every film, every trailer and every poster use the phrase “true story” as its main selling point, then the phrase begins to lose meaning.

Sitting in the cinema the other day, escaping from the sweltering Melbourne summer heat, I had a realisation: there are a lot of movies coming out that are based on/inspired by true events. I mean A LOT. Not only was I sitting down the watch The Imitation Game (a true story), but earlier in the day I saw The Water Diviner (“inspired” by a true story), along with trailers for Unbroken, Selma and In the Heart of the Sea, all dramatisations of true stories. Does this feed into the calamity of Hollywood making nothing but remakes and reboots? Possibly, as they all run the risk of being stories that we would already know. But we still occasionally get completely fictitious gems like Interstellar, so I wouldn’t be too concerned.